Il Volta 22

The cosplay shoot: Il Volta 22

The set gathers six costumed portraits, each built around a different mood yet held together by a warm light that returns in almost every image.

It opens with two shots devoted to a character with two-tone hair, white and black, wrapped in a dalmatian-spotted fur worn over a dark dress. In the first the setting is a dim interior, with a greenish background and the orange shape of a pumpkin on the right: the figure occupies the centre of the frame with a still, almost frontal bearing, the gaze sliding to one side. In the second the same figure lowers herself onto a flight of stairs, the body stretched along the steps and the head resting on one hand; a raking orange light fills the stairwell and leaves the background in deep shadow.

Next comes a daylight outdoor portrait: a character in pale armour with large white feathered wings, a crown and a glowing sceptre, standing on stone paving in front of a boundary wall and a blossoming tree. The sunset sky brings soft pinks and blues that echo the white, gold and blue of the costume, and the pose appears stable, vertical, almost statuary.

The fourth shot shifts register: a male character with a white bandana, red vest and white tank top is caught in an upward movement, arm extended and mouth open, against a dark background crossed by flames.

Two images close the set, reworking fairy-tale figures in an uneasy key: a blonde girl with a diadem, white tulle dress and red fur-trimmed cloak, seated before a brick fireplace, her hands clutching something red; and a figure in a yellow and blue dress lying across a pool table, cue in hand and cigarette between her lips, in a room of amber tones.